Government paid parental leave – how do I claim?

It’s the number one question all pregnant women ask us; how do I claim government paid parental leave? It is also the area most women need simplified as it can be a little daunting and confusing at first.

Our advice is to prepare yourself as much as possible ahead of having your baby. It will make the process so much easier for you.

In Australia, eligible parents can access 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay following the birth or adoption of their baby.

The fully-funded government Paid Parental Leave scheme was introduced in 2011 to help working parents spend more time at home with a new baby in those vital early months.

The scheme provides eligible parents with up to 18 weeks’ of Parental Leave Pay at the National Minimum Wage. The amount is currently $695 a week before tax.

This leave is different to your paid parental leave that you may receive through your employer as part of your employment contract.

How do you receive the paid parental leave payment?Parental Leave Pay can be paid to you by your employer or directly from the government.

Generally, your employer will receive the payment from the government and then pay it to you in your usual pay cycle. This allows them to withhold your usual amount of tax and allow for any other payments or contributions that you regularly make (super, salary sacrifice etc).

If you have decided not to return to your employer or are not based in Australia, you can also choose to have the payment paid directly to you from the government.

So here is our step-by-step guide to applying:

Step 1. Check your eligibility for paid parental leaveYou must be:

the birth mother of the newborn

the adopting parent of the child, or

another person caring for the child under exceptional circumstances

You may still be eligible if one of the people above is eligible and they transfer the payment to you. You also need to:

meet residency requirements from the date the child comes into your care until the end of your Paid Parental Leave period

have received an individual adjusted taxable income of $150,000 or less in the financial year either before the date of birth or adoption or the date you claim, whichever is earlier, and

be on leave or not working from when you become the child’s primary carer until the end of your Paid Parental Leave period

Step 2. Talk to your employerYou must tell your employer of your intention to take unpaid parental leave under the Fair Work Act. You need to do this at least 10 weeks before you would like the unpaid parental leave to commence. This must be in writing and outline the start and end dates.

Step 3. Decide on your datesYou need to decide on when you would like your Paid Parental Leave to start. This is not the date your payment will start, it’s the start of your entitlement period. Important to note, is that this can only begin from the day your child is born or adopted, or a later date—it can’t start before the birth or adoption of your child.

If you would like it to begin from the date of birth, then you need to provide proof of your child’s birth or adoption within 28 days. If you submit your claim or provide proof of your child’s birth or adoption more than 28 days after your child’s birth or adoption, the earliest your payment can start is the date you submitted this documentation.

You must submit your Paid Parental Leave claim before you return to work. We know of one situation where someone claimed late into their leave and decided to return early, so ended up losing 50 per cent of their paid parental leave pay.

Step 4. Create a myGov account and make sure you have a CRN numberYou can start your claim as early as three months before your child is born or adopted. You should claim early and you need to claim the payment online using your Centrelink online account through myGov. If you are new to this, then it will sound VERY confusing to begin with. The thing you need to know is that you need a myGov account to manage everything baby-related moving forward. This will be the most time-consuming part, but keep at it and do it early. If you don’t have a CRN, then you will need to apply for one of these also and you can do that though the myGov account. Once your children are born, you will then receive CRN numbers for them.

To manage everything online, you need a myGov account and a Centrelink online account.

Step 5. Sign in to myGov to link to your Centrelink online accountOnce you have created your myGov account, you can link it to your Centrelink online account. Watch the video and read more on how to link your online account to myGov here.

information about your Australian residency; for example, citizenship papers, passport or other documentation

work test information

your income details for the financial year either before the date of your claim or your child’s date of birth or adoption, whichever is earlier

details of your work over the last 13 months, including hours worked and unpaid leave taken

your employer’s Australian Business Number and payroll contact details, and

the date you would like your Paid Parental Leave period to start

Step 7. Provide proof of birthAfter the birth of your baby, you must submit the proof of birth or proof of adoption to complete your claim for payment. Your hospital will give you a birth registration form after the birth of your baby. We suggest that you start this process prior and do as much as possible beforehand.

To apply for a birth certificate, you will need to follow the process in your state or territory.

Once you are registered, it provides an easy way for you to track your paid parental leave payments. It’s also useful to keep all your CRN’s and family details in one place. The same app is also used to track your child care subsidy.

Circle In was established to improve the lives of working parents. We are building a global community for the modern working parent- from considering, to pregnancy, to parenthood, and back to work again. We also partner with leading companies to deliver a unique parental leave support program.